Page 36 of Purrfectly Haunted

I can’t remember how many I drank so far, but I can feel a nice buzz finally building up. I’m relaxed for the first time all day. They were right. I needed a respite from the ghosts and my worries.

“Order shots!” Lana calls as Shirley walks to the bar. “After the next round, we’re going dancing!”

The others cheer loudly.

I feel something touch me on the shin. Feet have been hitting mine for the past two hours, but this touch is persistent, and it trails along my leg, climbing higher. I look up and find James smiling at me.

Oh, god. He’s the one touching me.

He takes a sip of his beer, burning gaze holding mine as his foot finishes its course between my legs. It’s soft, and I realise he took his shoe off under the table. Pleasure shoots right to my groin and I feel dizzy. He’s such a tease, I’m in serious trouble.

Shirley comes back with my pint and places it in front of me. “You okay, Ewan?” she asks. “You look a little out of it.”

I nod hurriedly. “Aye... Just, getting a little drunk.”

The truth is, James’ foot is rubbing my erection through the fabric of my jeans with his socked foot, and all the blood is rushing down, abandoning my poor brain cells and letting them fend for themselves in my empty skull.

Lana says something to James, distracting him, and he finally relents. I sigh, already regretting his touch. I hold on to my beer with shaky hands and take a generous gulp. He offers me a grin from his end of the table. A grin I wish I could taste...

Thankfully, the round of shots is a welcome diversion, and by the time everyone is seated again, I angle my body towards Luigi to talk with him, making it impossible for James to reach my legs and crotch again.

Do I crave his touch? Yes, terribly. But I know it's not wise, and I’m not drunk enough yet to ignore my own boundaries.

Luigi is a cliché Italian, all charms and hand gestures, and he seems to have set his eyes on Shirley. He’s talking to me, but his attention keeps wandering back to her, just as mine wanders to James.

“She likes you,” he tells me at some point.

I blink, confused. “Who?”

“Shirley.” Luigi laughs. “When you first arrived, she talked about you a lot.”

It’s true that three days ago, on the afternoon when I was helping her put up Halloween decorations, she caught me unaware by asking me out. I stammered for a good minute, trying to find an excuse to say no, then I realised I could simply be honest. I told her I was gay. She took it all in stride and looked almost ecstatic. We talked about boys for an hour. Turns out she’s quite dominant in bed, and we’d have made a good match had she been a man. We laughed about it, and became friends.

She caught on to my not-so-subtle crush on James pretty fast.

I shake my head and I say to Luigi, “I’m gay, and she knows it.”

Luigi smiles in delight. “Are you?” he asks in a suddenly sultrous voice.

I blush. “Hm, aye?”

“You know, I’m bisexual.” His hand comes to rest on my thigh, and I just stare at him like a deer caught in headlights.

What is happening right now?

And suddenly, James is standing by our side, appearing far taller than he actually is. He’s smiling down at us, but his eyes are murderous as he looks at Luigi.

“Time to go to the club,” he says calmly. “We’re going dancing.”

He offers me a hand and pulls me to my feet. My face brushes his chest on the way up, as he leaves me barely any room to breathe, and his hand is warm in mine. He doesn’t let go and leads me through the now dense crowd in the pub. My heart melts, I’m so weak against his assertiveness. The way he always takes the lead in any situation has me—

“Ewan,” Shirley says, appearing on my other side. She hooks her arm in mine just as we exit the pub and walk out into the cold night. “Ready to shake your booty?”

I laugh, sandwiched between her and James. “I’m not really a dancer.”

It’s like inviting an elephant in a china shop. I’m too big.

“You just have to stand there, looking like a snack, and you’ll be fine,” James says.